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a cinematic stroll: at the border...

I came across some films that might be of interest to those watchful of our global cultural militarism, the nuances of border and surveillance issues, and the complex backlash landscapes of an emerging squatter refugee urbanism. Other than that, you know the routine. [ENTER]
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War Games by Marc Allen, is an intimate portrait of a community, recently devastated by war, struggling to put itself back together again and to stage an Olympic games for thousands of children from the surrounding villages. The film follows the organisers as they struggle with broken goalposts, hungry players, and the constant threat of bombing by the Sudan government, all in scorching daily temperatures upwards of 50 degrees Celsius

DUAL INJUSTICE: Feminicide and Torture in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua A documentary of two missing young women in Chihuahua City: Since 1993, more than 400 women have been violently killed and there have been over 4,000 registered complaints of disappeared women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua. This systemic problem has been called "feminicide" and has been known as the most embarrassing human rights scandal in Mexico's recent history.

Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border. For more than a decade, the southern border of the U.S. has resembled a war zone. Aggressive, military-style actions by the Border Patrol have made human rights abuses everyday events in border communities. Alongside this official militarization, armed vigilante groups have harassed border crossers and communities, but their numbers were relatively limited until recently.

WAL-MART by Robert Greenwald Documentary. 2005. The High Cost of Low Price takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.

LITTLE PEACE OF MINE by Eyal Avneri Documentary. 2005. Nadav is a charismatic twelve-year-old with a heightened sense of social and political awareness - a natural born leader. After a long summer of terrorist bombings in Jerusalem, including one that he actually witnessed, he decides to do something about the situation and announces the formation of a new movement, "Peace for the Future," consisting entirely of children.

ON THE FRONTLINES: CHILD SOLDIERS IN THE D.R.C. : WITNESS and Bukeni Beck (AJEDI-Ka) Documentary. 2004. Since 1996, war has ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some four million people have died as a result of the armed conflict and over ten thousand children have been used as child soldiers.Through the voices of child soldiers, "A Duty To Protect" explores the complexity of the war

Arsenal of Hypocrisy: The Space Program and the Militarization of Space The glory days of NASA are over! Today the Military Industrial Complex is marching towards world dominance through Space technology on behalf of global corporate interest. To understand how and why the space program will be used to fight all future wars on earth from space, it's important to understand how the public has been misled about the origins and true purpose of the Space Program.

The Israeli Transportation minister, Palestinian counterpart signed agreement to establish a joint Israeli-Palestinian transportation office; Sheetrit: We will work toward building a railroad for a freight train that would run between the West Bank, Israel and Gaza; EU pledges to donate two million euros to office initiatives. Read

From Brownfield To Battleground. Winnipeg, home to the largest concentration of Aboriginal people in Canada, considers a controversial plan to turn a 20-acre plot of abandoned industrial land into an "urban reserve" for a First Nations band, which would allow the band to operate business

Hundreds of immigrants tried to break through the border fences around the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa. Read

SQUATTER Urbanism

Asia's Largest Slum Is An Economic Powerhouse: Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, India, may appear at first to be a squalid concentration of misery. It is also the prosperous home of some 5,000 single-room factories and tens of thousands of entrepreneurs.

IMF committee backs debt erasure : A deal by the world's richest states to erase debt of up to $55bn (Â£31bn) owed by the poorest has been backed by one of the main international lenders.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has vowed to accelerate his controversial programme of land redistribution. Under President Chavez's administration, new laws have been passed to allow the state to seize underused ranches without compensation. Read

MILITARY Urbanism

the insurgency

IRAQ: ONLY 10% OF INSURGENTS ARE FOREIGN, says study. Who are the insurgents in Iraq? The BBC examines the main groups and motives behind the insurgency.

A Sci-Fi Future Awaits the Court : At John Roberts' confirmation hearings last week, there weren't enough discussions about science fiction. Technologies that are science fiction today will become constitutional questions before Roberts retires from the bench. The same goes for technologies that cannot even be conceived of now. And many of these questions involve privacy.

Science and politics: a dangerous mix : The Republican War on Science lives up to its incendiary title. The book will undoubtedly raise hackles among conservatives and spawn sharp-tongued counterattacks. But the real test of its efficacy may be whether or not it persuades independents and moderate Republicans that without a new approach toward science America is headed for what the author calls "economic, ecological, and social calamity."